Ice skating in the s8
 

Well after almost skidding off the road in to a lamp post last night....I was actually in a slide towards the lamp post ...when some how I had sense to straighten up...take foot off brake and apply gently....

Well following that I went on a nervous four hour journey to Skegness.....at one point I felt like I was actually driving on ice....so my question is do winter tyres help to reduce the skidding thing or will that happen anyway....and if so what is a decent winter tyre???

Standard S8 18s with correct winter tyre size will give you much better grip on slippy surfaces - I find mine almost undrivable in this sort of weather on 20s and much prefer using the A6

S8 18s
 

Thanks Adrian

Time to source a set....strangely enough the avuncular wheels can sometimes be a bit trickier to find....I remember when I needed some for the s4...in the end I settled for a set of b5 rs4 wheels.

Hi Ranj,
glad to hear you and the S8 are in one piece. You have found out the limitation of the S8, it has superb traction thanks to quattro, but you have no more grip than any other near 2 tonne car on summer tyres. Assuming you still have the Conti's on the car, you will be in severe trouble when braking on snow/ice. Winter tyres are the way to go if you plan to use the car on snow/ice.

I have winter tyres on my Merc and they are a revelation. I don't have the same traction as in the S8, so can't tackle all the hills, but they kick ass when cornering & braking.

Winter tyres
 

Hi Reffro

The contis have been awesome....but yes winter tyres are what I need!!!....irony of it is that by the time i have a winter set the snow will probably be gone....but at least I ll be prepared next time....

I did the same two winters ago on 20 inch Michelin PS2s, and slid into a kerb, resulting in an expensive refurb, and have been on 18 inch winter for the last two winters, without any fuss or bother.

Reffro's right - it's the weight that does it, in many ways quattro gives you a false sense of confidence - so when traction does go, it can be at a higher speed than would otherwise be the case.

I'd wholly recommend 18" winters - they also have the added benefit of being cheaper to run....(esp. second hand @ £40 a piece vs new 20" PS3s)

We do have alot of snow and ice here in Norway and the best studless winteryres are from my experience from driving on both frozen lakes and roads is as follows:

Yokohama IG30
Nokian hakka 7
Michelin X-Ice (might have a new name this year)

Also remember that wintertyres that have speedrating of H and V has no function on snow and ice what so ever.. R is ok but Q is def the best

:)

I have not touched my brakes... As soom as you brake and begin to slide i just lift off and nock it down a gear and let the engine do the work +++... I lived in tromso norway too and had a ford sierra with winter studded tyres and it did fairly well for a rear wheel drive car.. Bet the quattro with studded winters on kicks ass ?

I have no winter tyres at the moment for the same reason by the time i get a set of wheels to put them on and fit them the snow will be gone... Its an expence thats only valid in the uk for a couple of weeks and then it melts and pandamonium is over ...

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/vie...id=99023973363
Or get a set of snow socks there amazing ... They really do provide grrat grip and are a cheaper alternative to having a full set of tyres

Given the number of days (usually) that snow affects us, snow socks are definitely a good but cheaper investment than winter tyres ( at around £70 a pr.for 245x18") I saw a number of 6s in the Alps last year using these in deep snow with icy roads and they had climbed a steep village track to park outside their chalet. They are pretty easy to put on too.

I've got a set of chains but, lo and behold, the west of Scotland has been free of snow this year whilst the rest of the uk has been knee deep!! :(